While the blueberries are baking, prepare the ingredients for the topping, but do not stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just before the berries come out of the oven. A standard or deep-dish 9-inch pie pan works well; an 8-inch square baking dish can also be used. Vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream is the perfect accompaniment. To reheat leftovers, put the cobbler in a 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until heated through.
This probably doesn't even qualify as a recipe, I'll admit, but it's so smackingly refreshing and summerlicious it deserves a whole page of its own. The story goes like this: in 1922, an innkeeper in Bavaria didn't have enough beer to accommodate the bicyclists and other guests, so he cut the beer with lemon-lime soda and it was a hit. He named it "radler," which means "cyclist." So, is this the German equivalent of Gatorade? Kinda. The beer tempers the sweetness of the soda, and the soda mellows the bitterness of the beer, and the result is fruity and light tasting and has half the alcohol of beer. In my experience, though, it's so good I drink twice what I should, so be warned. I like it with pale American beer (full honesty moment: Busch Light), but by all means, experiment with different brews.
While writing this book, I read as many picnic and summery cookbooks as I could find, just to see what other people had done. By far the best book I came across was Claudia Roden's 1981 Picnics. It was packed with great recipes, ideas, and an astonishing amount of research. She graciously allowed me to reprint this recipe, which I adore for its simplicity and the clarity of its flavors.
Fennel blooms in mid-summer with airy umbels of tiny yellow flowers that have a sweet anise flavor. Soon after, the umbels are covered with soft, intensely flavored green seeds. A spice called fennel pollen is made from the sieved dried fennel flowers. Use whichever form you can come by; flowers, green seeds, or dried pollen. All will impart a similar wild, grassy fennel flavor to this soup, which is delicious served chilled if the weather suggests it.
Ingredients
The coffee in this marinade accentuates the bitter and smoky flavors of molasses, which is particularly delicious with pork ribs. This recipe is a favorite for marinating ribs of any kind: bee prime ribs or short ribs, as well as gone-in rib pork chops. My absolute favorite is pork spareribs because of their high ration of fat to meat. If that weren't enough, this marinade also makes a wonderful dipping sauce because it's not too salty.
A fruity Spanish olive oil, preferably from Andalusia, is important, as is a good sherry vinegar, preferably aged. Both can be found at specialty groceries or mail-ordered. If you can spare the time, garnish the gazpacho with tiny bread croutons fried in olive oil.
This is a summer classic. Make large batches for lunch, supper or any time a refreshing, low-fat pick-me-up or a one-dish meal is needed. You can snack on this soup all day, especially when it’s hot, humid, and the idea of actually cooking is enough to drive you to the drive-thru.
A far cry from the usual sour-cream-and-dill cucumber soup and a welcome change in midsummer, this soup may be prepared a day or two in advance, and can be made more substantial by adding about a cup of cold cooked crabmeat or shrimp at the last minute.
The juicy crushed berries make a nice spread with bread, and a delicious filling for cake. But this kind of sweet preserve also has a place on the dinner table.